SLIDE 1 A (very) short introduction to the English language for Italian speakers Some general difficulties
- Pronunciation: sounds and stress
- Spelling
- Premodification (esp. compound nouns)
- Word order
- Use of articles
- Countable/uncountable nouns
- Verbs: use of tenses; phrasal verbs
Week 1
SLIDE 2 Some specific difficulties of legal English
Peculiar wording and phrases, sparse punctuation, foreign phrases, unusual pronouns, semi-archaic formulations
Polysemy, e.g., distress, consideration, construction, furnish
SLIDE 3 Pronunciation - it is a nightmare!
- The vowel system of English is more complex:
Italians do not differentiate between some vowels e.g. word - war sit - seat; ship - sheep put – cut; bush - flush
- Over-emphasis on word endings
e.g. I am Italian > I aM ItaliaN What would you like to drink? > WhaT woulD you liKe to drinK?
- Some consonant sounds must also be differentiated
e.g. race vs raise advice vs advise precedent vs president
SLIDE 4
Pronunciation
Stress in longer words
Be particularly careful with words that have more than two syllables: make sure you get the stressed syllable right. agriculture /ˈæɡrɪˌkʌltʃə(r)/ comfortable /ˈkʌmftəb(ə)l/ contribute /kənˈtrɪbjuːt/ exhausted /ɪɡˈzɔːstɪd/ vegetable /ˈvedʒtəb(ə)l/
SLIDE 5
Inconsistencies between spelling and pronunciation
Some words that have similar spelling are pronounced differently. Examples: tough, though, thought, through, wage, wax, water Other words that have different spelling are pronounced the same: sun, son (as in cut and run)
SLIDE 6
Quick Test 1
Find the pair of words which rhyme:
sweet eat worse horse later latter blood food low go quite diet ´ ´
SLIDE 7
Quick Test 2
Pronounce these words; availability distribute management performance police
SLIDE 8 NOUN + NOUN
Nouns can be put together in three ways:
a war film; a computer shop
- 2. Preposition structure:
the top of the hill
Jim’s idea; my boss’ s office
SLIDE 9 Premodification
There are 4 major types of premodification in English:
- general adjective: a big pillow, official negotiations
- ed-participial modifier: established traditions, improved growth
- ing-participial modifier: growing problem, exhausting task
- noun: staff room, maturation period, company management
NOUN + NOUN sequences:
- the premodifying noun is usually in the singular
- much used in newspaper language and academic prose because they
condense information
e.g. New York Police > New York Police Department > New York Police Department scandal
SLIDE 10
Meaning relationships expressed by noun sequences
Composition e.g. glass windows (= windows made of glass) tomato sauce, water supplies Purpose e.g. pencil case (= case used for pencils) brandy bottle, search procedure Identity e.g. men workers (=workers who are men) member country Content e.g. algebra text (=a text about algebra) market report, credit agreement
SLIDE 11
Meaning relationships expressed by noun sequences
(cont.d) Objective (process / action) e.g. egg production, waste disposal, taxi driver Time e.g. summer conditions, Sunday school Location e.g. Paris conference, tunnel trains Partitive (X is a part of Y) e.g. cat legs, familiy member Specialization e.g. finance director, Education Secretary, football fans, management consultant
But what about riot police?
SLIDE 12 Frequent premodifying nouns family +
affair argument background car company doctor enterteinment friend
government +
action agencies approval bonds control decision Some premodifying nouns are plural. Typical examples: arms race / scandal / treaty sales force / tax drugs administration / business / companies jobs market / crisis
SLIDE 13 When is a ‘noun + noun’ structure used?
- For well-known, usual combinations;
for things that do not often go together, ‘noun + preposition’ is used
a war film a history book a postman road signs a corner table a film about thives a book about violins a man from the bank signs of anger the girl in the corner
SLIDE 14
Which of these can be expressed by
‘noun + noun’?
the door to the kitchen a child in the garden a box for matches chairs for the garden a man with a knife a bottle designed for wine
SLIDE 15 ‘noun + noun’ vs possessive ’s
- ‘noun + noun’ used for common kinds of
things
- possessive ’s used for something that belongs to
a person, group, organization, country, animal Compare:
a shoe shop Jim’s old car
SLIDE 16
Choose the correct noun group
a bus’s station / a bus station China’s history / the China history a horse’s race / a horse race the paper’s editor / the paper editor phone’s number / phone number
SLIDE 17
ADJECTIVES + NOUNS
Nouns can be modified with compound adjectives: a small-scale experiment adverb-adjective combinations: a potentially irreversible decline and coordinated adjectives: strict and systematic procedures
SLIDE 18
Focus on compound adjectives
ADJECTIVE + PAST/PRESENT PARTICIPLE + HEAD NOUN
best-selling book, longest-serving senator
ADJECTIVE + NOUN / PAST/PRESENT PARTICIPLE + HEAD NOUN
free-market economy, right-wing politicians, performance-led pay, English-speaking people
PAST PARTICIPLE + HEAD NOUN
screened-off entrance
SLIDE 19
Identify the pre-modified nouns
Cameroon palm oil campaigner arrested in crackdown on activists Nasako Besingi has been jailed after opposing a US-funded palm-oil plantation and supporters say this is linked to Cameroon’s ‘anglophone crisis’ A prominent campaigner against palm oil plantations has been arrested amid a growing crackdown on environmental and human rights activists in Cameroon, according to local lawyers and NGOs. Nasako Besingi, who has led opposition to a US-funded 73,000 hectare farm in a biodiverse rainforest, is among more than 100 individuals who have been detained during an escalation of tension between the predominantly French-speaking authorities and the country’s large English-speaking minority.
SLIDE 20
Identify the pre-modified nouns
Cameroon palm oil campaigner arrested in crackdown on activists Nasako Besingi has been jailed after opposing a US-funded palm-oil plantation and supporters say this is linked to Cameroon’s ‘anglophone crisis’ A prominent campaigner against palm oil plantations has been arrested amid a growing crackdown on environmental and human rights activists in Cameroon, according to local lawyers and NGOs. Nasako Besingi, who has led opposition to a US-funded 73,000 hectare farm in a biodiverse rainforest, is among more than 100 individuals who have been detained during an escalation of tension between the predominantly French-speaking authorities and the country’s large English-speaking minority.
SLIDE 21
COMPOUND NOUNS Explain the meaning of the following 1.an oil tanker 2.the oil industry 3.an oil heater 4.an oil can 5.oil pollution
SLIDE 22 What’s the difference?
- 1. a pipeline
- 2. an ink bottle
- 3. a book
collection
- 4. a cornfield
- 5. a pencil case
- 1. a line of pipes
- 2. a bottle of ink
- 3. a collection of
books
- 4. a field of corn
- 5. a case of pencils
